


Back From the Future

by wanderer765



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-26
Updated: 2017-04-26
Packaged: 2018-10-24 08:05:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10737579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wanderer765/pseuds/wanderer765
Summary: Ok…so I really didn’t like the ending last night. In what world does Barry Allen come back from a future without Iris West and NOT immediately go to hug and kiss her?? I’m…anyway, this is how the episode ended in my mind. I hope you enjoy.





	Back From the Future

When he first sees her he feels dizzy from the electricity running through him, from the impossible rate in which his heart is beating, from the shallow breaths he's taking of air that won't quite fill his lungs.

He walks over to her, at normal speed so that he can take the moment in. Live and feel the seconds it takes to get to her in the same way she does.

He stands in front of her, not yet touching her, but still feeling the warmth emanating from her body.

His eyes are filled with tears and she's looking at him with so much love and worry. He finally reaches out to comfort her, to comfort himself with the feel of her in his arms.

He had seen it. He had seen a world without Iris West and it wasn't something he ever wanted to experience again.

The thought of how broken he'd become without her fills his mind but he doesn't allow the tears to fall.

The Barry he saw had no fight left in him, no light in his eyes. His world was grey and dark. Lonely and quiet. A bone chilling quiet. He was nothing without her. A walking corpse living amongst memories and pictures, stuck in moments that were long gone.

"Barry?"

Her voice is barely a whisper.

He holds her tighter, not ready to let her go. He'll never be ready to let her go.

The others watch, eager to hear what information he'd gathered from the future. Suddenly very aware of the eyes on them, he breaks their embrace, but still keeps an arm around her as he vaguely fills the team in.

Later that night they lay in bed together. He's quiet, so quiet, and it scares her.

Her head rests on his arm as she runs soothing circles on his chest.

"Baby?" she says quietly.

"Mhmm?"

His hand rests on hers, stilling her movements.

"Are you gonna tell me about the future? I mean the stuff you didn't tell the others. I saw the sadness on your face when you came back...what happened there?"

He closes his eyes and lets out a heavy sigh.

"Iris..." he squeezes at her hand and she feels an anxious buzzing coursing through his body.

"I'm right here Barry, ok? I'm right here in your arms. Just breathe."

She somehow manages to bring their bodies even closer together than they already were.

"I wanna know. Talk to me."

"I...I didn't save you...I couldn't save you."

She feels his heart beating faster with every word he says.

"I barely recognized myself, the person I become without you. Iris...it's bad. I abandoned everyone, everything. Losing you...it breaks me so completely."

She lifts her head and leaves kisses on his jaw line. She props herself up on her elbow so that she can look in his eyes.

There's something in them she doesn't recognize. A fear and emptiness he's never allowed in before.

"It doesn't have to be that way, you can choose to be better than he was. It doesn't have to break you Barry, I don't want that for you," she pleads.

He sits up and faces her.

"Iris, it will. If I ever lose you, if things don't go our way, it will break me and there's nothing you or I can do to stop that. Don't you understand that? Don't you understand what you mean to me? You are the most important person in my life, I won't survive losing you, I won't. We just...we have to figure this out. I won't let you die. I can't exist in a world without you."

His head drops.

"You didn't see him...me, if you did maybe you could understand. I guess nothing I can say to you can make it clear enough, but when I told you there's no Flash, no Barry Allen, without Iris West...those weren't just words. Iris, nothing about who I am will ever survive losing you."

His eyes meet hers again and he sees that she's crying now too. He wraps his arms around her, he rests his head on her shoulder and she nuzzles into his neck.

Her heart breaks for him. It's a lot of pressure knowing just how dependent he is on her, but to be so loved makes her feel more whole than she ever thought she could feel.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, I can't imagine a pain so deep and ruining. I'm so sorry Bear."

She can feel him slightly shaking his head.

"I'm sorry I failed you. I won't let it happen again, we'll beat him. We'll win ok?"

The desperation in his voice startles her. As scary and unsure as it all feels right now, she believes him. She trusts him. She has to.

"I love you so much Iris. I love you...I love you."

She lifts her head and kisses him. She can feel tears falling on to her upper lip, and she's unsure if they're his or hers.

She breaks the kiss and wipes his tears with her thumbs.

"I love you too Barry, more than you can fathom."

She lifts his hand and brings it to rest over her heart.

"I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."

She lifts their covers so they can lay back under them. This time his head rests on her and she holds him in her arms, her soft and loving embrace reminding him that he hasn't lost her.

He falls into a deep slumber and tries to dream of a happy future, ridding his mind of the world he saw without Iris West. A future he promises he will never see again.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to leave me your thoughts, comments, or concerns. Feedback is much appreciated! Hope you enjoyed <3


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